Housing benefit cap will lead to 'Kosovo-style' cleansing of London: Cameron and Boris at war over eviction jibe

Boris Johnson provoked fury in Downing Street yesterday as he warned that Coalition reforms of housing benefit would lead to a ‘Kosovo-style social cleansing’ of the poor from city centres.

The Tory London Mayor tore into ministers’ plans to cap housing benefit payments at £400 a week, insisting he would ‘emphatically resist any attempt to recreate a London where the rich and poor cannot live together’.

‘What we will not see and we will not accept [is] any kind of Kosovo-style social cleansing of London.

'On my watch, you are not going to see thousands of families evicted from the place where they have been living and have put down roots,’ he declared on radio in the morning.

Divided: London Mayor Boris Johnson is said to have left David Cameron 'bristling with anger'

But two hours later, Downing Street put Mr Johnson in his place.

David Cameron’s official spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister doesn’t
agree with what Boris Johnson has said, or indeed, the way he said it.
He thinks the policy is the right one and he doesn’t agree with the way
he chose his words.’

A source said: ‘The official line is that Boris is Boris, but he has
gone too far this time. To accuse the Prime Minister of social
cleansing is well over the top. It is fair to say that the PM was
bristling with anger when he heard.’

By lunchtime, Mr Johnson had been forced into a retreat. In a
statement he claimed his words had been taken ‘out of context’. ‘My
consistent position has been that the Government is absolutely right to
reform the housing benefit system which has become completely
unsustainable.

‘I do not agree with the wild accusations from defenders of the current system that reform will lead to social cleansing.’

Ethnic conflict: An elderly Kosovar weeps as she is driven from her home in 1999

But the political damage had already been done. Shadow work and
pensions secretary, Douglas Alexander, said: ‘Even Boris Johnson has
not been convinced by these ill-thought-out policies that risk higher
homelessness and higher costs.’

Mr Johnson has suggested more than 80,000 London families could be
forced from their homes by the policy, designed to bring down the
runaway housing benefit bill. But his decision to liken the
Government’s flagship welfare reform to the bloodiest episode in
post-war Europe, marked a new low in his relationship with Mr Cameron.

Social and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans in the 1990s, saw an
estimated 2.7 million flee their homes in terror as the Serbs pursued a
policy of forcing out other national and religious groups. In Kosovo
alone an estimated 800,000 ethnic Albanians had to leave their homes.

When Labour made a similar comparison earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the comments were ‘outrageous’.

Mr Johnson’s outburst also appeared to spoil his chances of gaining concessions on the policy.

He said he was in ‘detailed negotiations’ with the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith over softening the changes.

But last night department sources said there would be no further
concessions. The plans include a £400-a-week housing benefit cap for
four-bedroom homes and a 10 per cent reduction in payments for the
long-term unemployed.

Housing minister Grant Shapps said: ‘We are still saying someone can
receive nearly £21,000 a year from the taxpayer for their rental.’